MQ Memories

Hard to imagine, but true: Once upon a time, 2,400 horses’ hooves clattered across the MQ grounds. The imperial stables housed around 600 horses and 200 carriages. Where art is now displayed in the MQ Freiraum, the emperor’s horses once stood. But the MQ has never completely lost its love for animals. Learn more on the poster “MQ Memories: Animals at the MQ.”

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In 2013, the MQ Main Courtyard was briefly transformed into a green festival lawn for the opening of ImPulsTanz: A temporary roll of turf transformed the space and invited visitors to sit, lie down, and linger. You can discover more green MQ moments on the “Heiß auf Grün” poster.

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The path to today’s MQ was marked by debates, visions, and resistance. The planned building heights, in particular, sparked criticism and protests. A citizens’ initiative was even formed. The “MQ Memories” poster “Above the Roofs of the MQ” illustrates how the area has changed over the decades—from war damage to “imagined building heights” to today’s MQ.

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Art at the MQ is everywhere, even in places you have to discover for yourself: Bruce Nauman’s 2004 work “Audio-Video Underground Chamber” consists of an empty concrete chamber buried outside the mumok. A camera and microphone transmit images and sound to a screen inside mumok. Among other things, the work explores the reversal of inside and outside, as well as the concealment and inaccessibility of spaces. You can discover more “Hidden Art at the MQ” here:

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“My thing isn’t the niche,” says the German-Turkish artist Feridun Zaimoglu, “my thing is the aggressive counterattack.” Zaimoglu did not conceal the façade of the Kunsthalle Wien by making it disappear, but by transforming it into a Turkish tent using hundreds of Turkish flags of various sizes. Reactions were not long in coming: the installation sparked heated public debate. The poster “MQ Memories: Protest Culture” showcases more protest actions at the MQ.

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At the opening of the 2013 ImPulsTanz Festival, the MQ was spontaneously transformed into a catwalk. Dancer Trajal Harrell and his crew rocked the dance floor with their voguing performance and gave the audience the “License to Party.” The poster “MQ Memories: Music For Masses” showcases what else the MQ had to offer musically.

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Hardly any construction project has polarized Vienna as much as the design for the MuseumsQuartier. The Kronen Zeitung called it the “museum monster,” citizens’ groups protested vehemently, and international experts voiced their criticism. At the center of the debate was the 67-meter-high Reading Tower, a striking landmark without a clear function. Soon, the concept as a whole was called into question, and the Reading Tower was slated for demolition. The poster “MQ Memories: Visions in the MQ” showcases more visions.

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Reaching New Heights at the Hof Kunst Fest: For her performance—created specifically for the MQ’s 25th anniversary—Doris Uhlich turned the entire MuseumsQuartier into a stage—from the roof of the former Winter Riding Hall, across the mumok, and down to the main courtyard. The airy staging was part of the concept: the architecture, history, and present of the complex merged into a single stage. Wearing a saddle and a ponytail, Uhlich also alluded to the MQ’s past as imperial stables. The poster “MQ Memories: Airy Stages” showcases more special stages at the MQ.

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Exhibitions on the theme of nudity had previously focused primarily on images of unclothed women. In the fall of 2012, the Leopold Museum presented “Naked Men: From 1800 to the Present,” a long-overdue exhibition exploring diversity and change in the depiction of naked men. Taking a broad perspective, the exhibition explored different artistic approaches, competing models of masculinity, and the evolution of ideas about the body, beauty, and values. More bare skin at the MQ can be seen on the “Sex Sells” poster.

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